UK's business and IT leaders are on the same page

Business leaders and their IT managers in the UK are more aligned on cyber security than the rest of the planet, a new survey has shown.

According to a new report sponsored by VMWare, and conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit, entitled "The cyber-chasm: How the disconnect between the C-suite and security endangers the enterprise”, business and IT leaders are usually not on the same page when it comes to IT security, priorities and risks.

In the UK, however, things are slightly different.

Looking globally, just 12 per cent of corporate leaders expect a major and successful cyber-attack in the next 90 days. More than 30 per cent of IT security executives feel the same way.

In the UK, on the other hand, 40 per cent IT security executives and 35 per cent corporate leaders agree on this issue.

Similar results are in terms of what are the most important assets to be protected. Globally, IT experts would rather protect user data, while corporate leaders would go for the company’s reputation. In the UK, both IT leaders (37 per cent) and corporate leaders (16 per cent), agree customer data is the most important asset. Both agree regulated data and reputation are important assets.

“This executive cyber-chasm creates imperatives for both segments,” it says in the report. “The C-suite needs to better understand the vulnerability of their business, and in particular how threats may escalate. The security/IT team needs to bring itself into alignment with the C-suite’s more strategic view of cyber-security within the firm’s operations. Finally, the security function must manage its expectations on the funding that will be provided to support cyber-defences, or adopt more flexible and lower-cost solutions.”